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On this 4th July, when America & UK are in such political turmoil, here is a THREAD to shine a light on the way that attachment experiences in childhood shape political views in adulthood. Essentially, it comes down to how a person copes w/ a sense of uncertainty.
2. This sobering discssn on @QuickTake explores where political divisions might take America. Those divisions are no longer 'just' emotional. They are geographical. Ppl are moving so they can form communities with others who share their political outlook. https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=679860736190855&ref=watch_permalink
3. "The 2012 study showed that parents who tended to be more authoritarian in their parenting styles--believng that children should always obey their parents--tended to have 18-year-olds with more conservative political beliefs." https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/under-the-influence/201210/early-life-shapes-political-attitudes
4. “Rigid parental views of right/wrong, trust/distrust, love/hate can [either] be embraced by children who want to stay connected to parents, or who, for their own independence, are willing to cast them off and place the parental relationship at risk.” https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/05/parents-political-beliefs/361462/
5. 2009 study: "Attachment style has been shown in studies to relate to political ideology. Secure style is predominantly associated w/ liberalism; Insecure avoidant w/ both liberalism & conservatism; Insecure ambivalent w/ conservatism." https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11211-009-0099-y
6. 2008 study: "Insecurely attached ppl were attracted to ideas that created t impression of certainty & lack of critical doubt. Securely attached were attracted to ideas that recognised greater complexity in t world & provided fewer easy solutions." https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-28/december-2015/attachment-beyond-interpersonal-relationships
7. 2016 study: "Our findings provide insight as to why insecurely attached bicultural individuals may be drawn to endorse extreme pro-group actions." https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886915300787
8. 2016 piece by @Dr_Pam_Jarvis : "What do we need to heal an angry, insecure nation? It might be useful to consider the qualities that are sought in foster parents to work with the angry, insecure children produced by neglectful parents." https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/pam-jarvis/london-calling_2_b_10819374.html
9. Let me draw this thread to a close by highlighting one of my favourite authors - Robin Grille, in Australia. His book traces how cultures' dominant parenting styles have given rise to Nazi Germany, far-right USA & geographically ambitious Israel. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1764731.Parenting_for_a_Peaceful_World
10. "In my book Parenting for a Peaceful World, I show that as childhood improves, society improves with it. The young human brain develops differently in empathic versus authoritarian environments. Parenting & schooling drive our future." https://www.kindredmedia.org/2012/02/is-a-better-world-possible-by-robin-grille/
11/end. This is why I continue to talk abt attachment & children, even as our political divisions become more urgent & dangerous. The origins of those divisions are not only economic. They lie in our unconscious emotional pasts. How we treat our children matters matters matters.
